1. Field of the Invention.
This invention relates to audibilization, or making audible, precipitation and more particularly to a percussion apparatus or instrument for making precipitation, and particularly precipitation in the form of rain, more than normally audible. More particularly still, the apparatus comprises generally chime means for impact by rain or other precipitation, which, upon striking the chime means, causes it to give off a pleasing sound.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
As is well known, many persons find the sound of rain drops, or, in some cases, the sound of snow or light hail, to be not only pleasing, but extremely restful. Rain, for example, is often made audible by falling upon slightly resilient or resonant surfaces such as roofs, shed tops, and particularly dry leaves and the like. Frozen precipitation of various forms may also resound, particularly upon striking dry leaves that have remained upon trees or may be strewn on the ground. Many persons who have become accustomed to such sounds find them quite sleep inducing, or soporific. Moreover, the regular rhythmical impact upon various surfaces of falling precipitation of various kinds is to an even larger group of persons, restful and relaxing and, in some cases, almost hypnotic. Whether such effect is due to suggestion induced by association with remembered days and nights when it rained and there was little else to do but relax, through childhood association with sleep in a portion of a house where the sound of raindrops was heard, or through some innate rhythmical or associated process dependent upon the physiological makeup of the human body, is not important. The well recognized fact is that the sound of rain has a peculiar attraction for many people and is relaxing both when drowsy and when wide awake.
Under modern conditions of housing and living many persons have little chance to hear the impact of raindrops and other precipitation and consequently lose the benefits thereof. This is largely because modern housing places less emphasis upon structure exposed to precipitation adjacent to sleeping quarters that upon being struck by rain will resonate in a fashion to provide a pleasing and relaxing sound or tone. For example, in high-rise apartments there are frequently no surfaces exposed to rain immediately outside the windows, much less surfaces which are fortuitously constructed to resonate upon impact with raindrops. Few persons, furthermore, sleep in modern times under the eaves of a house or in shed type attachments where the impact of precipitation is clearly heard. Young people after growing up under such conditions, may even lack familiarity and experience with the relaxing and almost hypnotic effects of the impact of precipitation such as rain and in some cases snow and hail upon resonating surfaces.
Various types of chime devices activated by natural phenomena have been developed in the past, for example, the traditional wind chime type device which was popular earlier in this century, see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,012,560 issued December 19, 1911 to H. B. Keller, as well as U.S. Pat. No. Des. 224,853 issued Sept. 26, 1972 to R. P. Meyer. Such wind type chime devices have enjoyed in recent years a remarkable resurgence taking many and varied forms in which, in one manner or another, the horizontal force of the wind is made to bias the chimes or chime actuating elements transversely against other elements to cause a resonation in the chime elements giving off a pleasing and, in some cases, restful sound.
There have been other types of devices designed to be moved by the wind, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,722,195 issued Nov. 1, 1955 to A. J. Rockefeller discloses a contrivance mounted upon a bracket screwed to a wall or post which holds a swinging device including vertical planes which are acted upon by the wind in an erratic manner to cause an erratic movement which may serve to frighten birds and the like from telephone poles and other less than inconvenient places upon which they may otherwise roost. Other scarecrow type devices designed for activation by horizontal action of the wind are also known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,085,545 issued Apr. 16, 1963 to E. G. Ore and U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,079 issued Dec. 26, 1978 to J. F. Rousseau are also designed for scaring birds.
Fluid operated chime means have also been known as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,993 issued Oct. 3, 1972 to N. T. McFarland. The McFarland device provides a series of reservoirs, from which water drips into the hollow ends of pivoted striker elements, each of which, when sufficient water has collected within such element, pivots downwardly so its opposite end strikes the protruding end of a clapper suspended in a chime member. The clapper thus impacts upon the surrounding chimes causing an audible tone. Meanwhile the water drains from the end of the striker element and into a further reservoir in which it collects and then drips into a similar striker element on a lower level which in turn pivots and impacts upon the end of a protruding clapper within a further chime element.
U.S. Pat. No 2,968,688 issued Jan. 17, 1961 to K. R. Skinner discloses a type of rain sensor which includes an extended surface designed for impact by raindrops. An insulating material is provided around the extended surface to insulate it from adjacent electrically conductive material. Raindrops falling upon the extended surface run to the side on such surface and upon bridging the insulating material connect the extended surface to an adjacent electrically conductive material to close a circuit and cause an alarm to be activated. Essentially two metallic members, one in the form of a shallow cup and the other in the form of a convex or flat plate are separated by an insulator. Preferably the two metallic members are formed of dissimilar metals, generally within the electromotive series. While the device is designed to give an alarm or to operate a motor to close windows or the like when it detects rain, there is no audibilization of the rain impacts except insofar as an alarm might be sounded, hardly a pleasing and relaxful event.
Other devices have been designed for audibilization of natural phenomenon, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,175 issued December 10, 1985 to M. Schumann discloses a musical instrument that produces various tones, such as whistle type tones when impacted or impinged upon by radiant energy which serves to elevate the temperature of a heat body, in this instance formed by a wire mesh arrangement, which, upon being heated, interacts with air causing the air to pass through the device and produce a whistling sound.
While it has been known in the art, therefore, to take advantage of various natural energy sources, such as the wind or sunlight, for various purposes, so far as the present inventor is aware, no means has previously been devised for taking advantage of and audibilizing, or making audible, or more than normally audible, the falling impact of precipitation such as raindrops and the like.